ROCHESTER, Minn. — It is set to be a destination for medicine and technology and now schools in Rochester are making sure students in the city are prepared.

Rochester Catholic Schools is working with Project Lead the Way (PLTW) to incorporate STEM learning into their curriculum.

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Starting next school year they will have K-5 PLTW “Launch” curriculum. Lourdes High School will offer engineering and biomedical courses.

“This is an opportunity for our school system and our local business communities to essentially invest in their own futures and their own sustainability by empowering through education the future workforce,” said Director of Schools Michael Brennan.

They say outside of the future of the workforce, the demand is still there.

“There’s all these kids and they want to have more of that in the school day and lots of parents want to have them in the school day and so do the teachers. They want to be able to give their students these exciting learning opportunities, problem based, hands-on, so there’s lots of need for it,” said Director of Curriculum Emily Pearson.

They will get grades 6-8 involved the following year with classes centered on the “Gateway to Technology.”